Missouri football's Kony Ealy comes up with big play in 45-28 win over Indiana

A Missouri player lifts his helmet over his head in celebration after the Tigers defeated the Hoosiers 45-28 Saturday in Bloomington, Ind. Missouri debuted their new matte anthracite Nike helmets at the game.
|Joshua Boucher

Missouri player Marcus Murphy carries the ball down field as Indiana player Ryan Phillis attempts to make a tackle during the second half Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.
|Joshua Boucher

Missouri tailback Russell Hansbrough runs the ball as Indiana players Steven Funderburk and Christopher Cormier attempt to make a tackle during the second half Saturday in Bloomington, Ind.
|Joshua Boucher

Missouri tailback Marcus Murphy carries the ball 10 yards for a touchdown as Indiana safety Greg Haban attempts to make a tackle during the first half Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.
|Joshua Boucher

Missouri quarterback James Franklin rushes one yard for a touchdown during the first half of the game against University of Indiana on Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind. Franklin's touchdown put the Tigers up 20-14.
|Joshua Boucher

Caleb Smith, left, sings the Missouri fight song with Alex Flick, right, Joshua Smith and Carl Garber at Kilroy's Bar 'n' Grill in Bloomington, Ind., before Missouri's football game against Indiana. Smith and his friends live around St. Louis and went to Indiana to cheer on their alma maters. Garber graduated from Indiana in 2003 but has family who attended Missouri.
|Joshua Boucher

Stacy Leitz and Liz Oliver dance at Kilroy's Bar 'n' Grill before Saturday's Missouri football game in Bloomington, Ind. Leitz and Oliver were sorority sisters in Kappa Delta at Missouri, and they took Saturday's game as an opportunity to visit Claire Hornton, not pictured, a graduate student at Indiana and a Missouri alumna.
|Joshua Boucher

The Missouri Tigers face the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday night in Bloomington, Ind. Some Missouri fans made the 5 1/2-hour trip to cheer on the Tigers.¦Joshua Boucher

It was the second quarter, and the defensive line still hadn't been able to bring down Indiana quarterback Nate Sudfeld, who was driving to tie the game at 21. The number was looming large. Two sacks for Missouri's defensive line through two games and not a single one for Ealy.

What came next took patience, amid the frustration. With a clear lane to Sudfeld, Ealy took a step back and clogged the freshman quarterback's passing lane. Sudfeld threw it anyway, just like Ealy was hoping for.

Already standing 6 feet 5 inches tall, Ealy jumped a bit higher and pulled in the interception. With nothing but green grass in front of him, the 275-pound defensive end sprinted 49 yards for the touchdown to put the Tigers up 28-14, a lead they wouldn't relinquish in a 45-28 win over the Hoosiers on Saturday.

The interception return was reminiscent of the decisive play in Missouri's win over Toledo, in which defensive end Markus Golden intercepted a pass and returned it for a 70-yard touchdown. Missouri's defensive line now has as many interceptions returned for touchdowns as they do sacks through three games after another game without a sack.

Coming into the game, Missouri's focus was on Indiana's up-tempo offense. The quick-hit passing game and no-huddle attack slowed down the Tigers' pass rush, but three first-half turnovers from Missouri's offense also contributed to the defense's fatigue.

Indiana's offense generated the pregame hype and had a few big passing plays, but for the Hoosier offense, it was mostly a mirage. Missouri forced Indiana to punt on all four of its possessions in the first quarter before intercepting two passes in the second quarter, which gives the Tigers eight interceptions on the season, one more than they had in 2012.

Indiana's final results of 475 yards of offense and 28 points may look ugly, but Missouri's defense did enough early to make sure Missouri's offense left no doubt.

The offense was prolific, but not perfect.

Three early turnovers — including two overthrown interceptions by James Franklin — kept Indiana in the game before Ealy’s big play. But the Tigers’ aerial attack turned it on in a game that was billed as a potential shootout.

Franklin was 32-for-47 with 343 yards and three total touchdowns. And he spread the ball around. Marcus Lucas (10 catches for 101 yards) and Dorial Green-Beckham (8 for 105) became the first pair of Missouri receivers to top 100 yards since T.J. Moe and Jerrell Jackson at the 2010 Insight Bowl. The game was also Green-Beckham's first career 100-yard receiving performance.

The run game was crucial late, as Franklin tallied many of his 61 rushing yards in the final quarter, and Russell Hansbrough sealed the win with a 45-yard touchdown run.

The Tigers open the season 3-0 for the first time since 2010, when Blaine Gabbert and Aldon Smith led Missouri to seven straight wins and a No. 7 national ranking.

This time, it's Franklin and Ealy leading, coming up with the key plays despite some frustrating moments.